Alone No More
by IFeelItToo
Summary: After years of working in Unkar Plutt's boarding house, Rey decides it is time to find a new life out west. To make this happen, she signs up to be a mail-order bride at Maz Kanata's agency. When the farmer Kylo Ren answers her advertisement, Rey has no idea what to expect. Will they fall in love? Will she finally have a family?


_Alone No More_

Chapter 1

Rey Kenobi sighed quietly, wiping the sweat from her brow and pushing the loose hair out of her face. She had been doing laundry for hours, yet the piles of dirty clothing never seemed to diminish one bit. After this dull task is completed, Rey still has to mop the floor and wipe down every surface of the kitchen before cooking dinner for the tenants this evening. Feeding twelve men twice a day is no easy task, especially since each of them have their own particular tastes. For instance, Mr. Fett could not stand tomatoes, while Mr. Binks refuses to eat pork. Her life working in Unkar Plutt's boarding house seemed to grow more miserable every single day, beginning the very moment the man plucked her from the orphanage when she was twelve. Seven years of labor did not equal respect in the man's eyes by any means, and his treatment toward Rey only worsened with time. Even if her mistake was small, like burning the chicken or breaking a plate, Unkar Plutt would beat and belittle her.

Rey allowed herself a moment to think about her parents who were killed in a tragic carriage accident all those years ago. She was too young to remember what they looked like or sounded like, but she knew their names- _Owen and Elizabeth Kenobi._ To her, the names were more than just words. They were enough to imagine what the two people responsible for her very existence might have have been like. Perhaps her mother had her same petite stature and dark hair, while her father had her deep brown eyes and small smile. She knew in her heart that they were good people, people like she had never known. The parents in her dreams cared for other people, laughed a lot, and loved each other. Suddenly, Plutt entered the room with a _slam_ , throwing the door open with all of his strength.

"Girl, get back to work!" Plutt screamed, eyes flashing and the skin under his chin sagging. He swayed a little with each step he took, and paired with the smell of whiskey, Rey knew he was intoxicated again despite the early hour. Finally making it across the room, Plutt grabbed her chin, forcing her brown eyes to stare into his mossy green, bloodshot irises. "I don't keep you around to just sit there and stare into space. Earn your keep." As he finally let go of her face, Rey breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, Unkar Plutt was not done toying with her yet, knocking her wash basin over and spilling soapy water all over the wooden floor before exiting the room.

So, Rey started over as she often had to, forcing herself to breathe deeply and remain calm. She grabbed the washboard and the bar of soap, sitting them aside as she soaked up the wasted water. Eventually, she got back on track, and garment after garment, her resolve began to thicken. She would begin seeking a way out of this place, maybe out of the city of Philadelphia altogether. The cold, crowded streets offered no comfort to a young woman without a family, and Rey was sick and tired of feeling alone.

Later that night, Rey plated a meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and carrots for each of the men living in the boarding house, then took her place in the corner of the dining room. She never ate with the tenants and Plutt, she always took her meal in the kitchen afterwards. Attending to the men as they ate had one clear advantage though, it was the only way Rey could acquire daily information about what was going on in the world. She could read thanks to the fifth grade education the orphanage provided, but no one ever cared to bring her a newspaper, and when she ran errands she did not have the time or the funds to purchase one.

"You know," Mr. Palpatine began, "I hear that if you want to make something of yourself in this day and age, the right move is going out west. Land is cheap right now and a man can build himself an entire farm for nothin' but a little hard work. They say there aren't many women out there and it's blazing hot, but it sounds like there's some real money in it." He took a long drink from his beer, looking at the other diners for their opinion on the matter, proud of himself for introducing this evening's topic of conversation.

Rey stared off into the distance, tuning out whatever the other men said in reply. She imagined wide open spaces, tall grass, and the warm sun. She thought about untying her hair and letting it blow behind her in the wind, and getting fresh food grown on her own farm. Maybe she could even milk a cow or ride a horse. Lastly, she pictured herself starting a family, finding someone to love and to love her back for once in her life.

It was decided. Somehow, whatever it took, Rey was going west.


End file.
